A new biography, Joaquín de Gispert y el Liceo. Una historia barcelonesa, sheds light on Joaquim de Gispert i Anglí, the military officer, civil servant, and entrepreneur who founded Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. The book, written by cultural journalist Sergi Doria, details the opera house's construction in a record two years, despite significant opposition from civil and military authorities in the city, according to the Círculo del Liceu.
The project faced protests over the felling of trees on La Rambla and encountered official objections regarding construction defects and licences. This new work, commissioned by the Círculo del Liceu, aims to recognise Gispert's critical role in establishing one of Catalonia's most important cultural institutions. Francisco Gaudier, president of the Círculo del Liceu, stated, "To recognise those who made institutions like this possible is an act of justice."
Gispert's Life Mirrors Barcelona's Turmoil
Doria, an expert on 19th-century Barcelona, explores Gispert's life from his birth in 1799, six years after the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, to his death after the 1888 Universal Exposition, which projected the city onto the world stage. "The Liceu did not just appear on La Rambla like a mushroom," Doria explained, "it is the product of a turbulent period: three Carlist Wars, revolutionary uprisings..."
Gispert, a religious, moderate, and conservative state official, unsuccessfully tried to suppress the Sant Jaume uprising of 1835 and protect the Trinitarios Descalzos convent on La Rambla from arsonists. Ironically, he would later lay the first stone of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 1844 on the very site of the destroyed convent. Doria calls this a "happy paradox," where frustration became opportunity. The razed plot was acquired by the Liceu Society, which gave Gispert full powers. This marked the beginning of what Doria terms the 'Gispert factor,' enabling him to secure a fixed budget, contributing his own money, and inaugurate the theatre on schedule.
Family Archives and Political Struggles
Gispert's descendants helped reconstruct his story. Rafael de Gispert, in particular, provided autobiographical notes left by Joaquim, a thirty-page account of his life written for his children in the archaic language of the 19th century. Gispert's experience in 19th-century Spain, marked by the alternation of progressive and moderate governments under Isabel II, and constant military pronouncements, led him to pessimism. During this period, Barcelona was expanding, with hygienist Felipe Monlau advocating for the demolition of city walls and Ildefons Cerdà's statistical monograph justifying the creation of the Eixample district.
Fernando VII served as Gispert's wedding godfather, as Gispert's wife had been a lady-in-waiting to the queen. Gispert himself spent a decade defending Girona against the French. His friend Manuel Gibert, involved in Barcelona's urban planning and a promoter of the Mataró-Barcelona railway, founded the Liceo Filarmónico de Montesión in 1837. This institution, linked to the National Militia, occupied a convent after the Mendizábal disentailment. Gibert proposed forming a society to generate income for military uniforms through music classes and performances, with Gispert as an early board member.
The Birth of the Liceu and Rivalries
Seven years later, under Narváez's government, Dorotea de Chopitea, a lay Salesian and sister-in-law of Gispert, forced the eviction of the Liceo Filarmónico to return the site to the clergy. Gispert and his associates, anticipating this, had already set their sights on the Trinitarios convent site. They moved their props and scenery from Montesión, starting a new rivalry with the public Teatre de la Santa Creu, supported by a hospital. This older theatre, one of Spain's oldest, rebranded itself as El Principal to compete with the Liceu.
The established powers favoured El Principal, disliking the emerging bourgeoisie's ambition to build their own theatre. This led to rumours and conspiracy theories, including claims that the Liceu had desecrated holy ground for entertainment. A "war" between 'liceístas' (Liceu supporters) and 'cruzados' (supporters of the cross and El Principal) began, with the latter expecting only an Italian operetta. Gispert was forced into exile in Europe, included on blacklists by military figures like Espartero. He spent time in Toulouse with his family, in Geneva where his children studied, and in Milan, where he studied artificial meadows. "He was always on the defensive, fearing revolution," Doria concluded.
Despite the political instability, the secular bourgeoisie continued to claim public spaces and shape the city. La Rambla, once lined with convents, underwent a radical transformation as Barcelona expanded. This historical context is key to understanding Gispert's enduring legacy and the origins of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, which remains a central cultural landmark in Catalonia today.
